Fiduciary Trust Co Raises Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,285 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 11,092 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after buying an additional 121,322 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,628,000 after buying an additional 7,583 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,185,000 after buying an additional 31,548 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 271.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 4,574 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Macquarie upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $253.44 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $165.25 and a 52 week high of $255.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $240.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Profile

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, a hospitality company, engages in managing, franchising, owning, and leasing hotels and resorts. It operates through two segments, Management and Franchise, and Ownership. The company engages in the hotel management and licensing of its brands. It operates luxury hotels under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand; lifestyle hotels under the Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, and Motto by Hilton brand; full service hotels under the Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton brand; service hotels under the Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, and Tru by Hilton brand; all-suite hotels under the Embassy Suites by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton brand; and economy hotel under the Spark by Hilton brand, as well as Hilton Grand Vacations.